In Khorsand v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2025 FC 540, Madam Justice Aylen ruled that when assessing the mental health effects of removal it is insufficient for officers to simply state that the country of citizenship has medical facilities to deal with healthcare. Rather, officers must assess the actual evidence that it is the removal that can cause mental decline.
Remote Work and Canadian Immigration
The issue of remote work and Canadian immigration is becomming an increasingly lively topic. Here are several IRCC e-mails on the matter. As well, here is another IRCC IMMreps response on the topic. Here are more IRCC e-mails confirming that it is possible to claim foreign work experience for work done remotely while in Canada.
The Return of Incomplete Applications
I have previously written in this blog about how Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (“IRCC’) has adapted an exceptionally strict approach to returning applications for incompleteness. I have also written in Policy Options about how frustrating this approach can be, because one of its main purposes appears to be to allow politicians to boast about reduced processing times, while ignoring the fact that the experience of individuals who are actually applying is actually often longer than previously. I wrote: The current rigid triage system distorts a fair comparison of processing times. Suppose an individual applies to sponsor a spouse to immigrate to Canada and forgets to include in one of the forms the city where a non-accompanying brother was born. Previously, processing might have been delayed by two to three months while IRCC contacted the family, informed them of the mistake and requested they provide the information. Now, IRCC would instead return the application one to two months after it is submitted, and the family would have to resubmit. If some supporting documents have expired, they may have to reobtain them, and the process can easily take several months. Under the previous system, this delay would have added two to … Read More
Temporary Resident Permits
On June 28, 2019 Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada substantially changed the guidance that it provides to officers regarding the issuance of Temporary Resident Permits (“TRPs“). The biggest change was the removal of the statement that TRPs could not be issued for administrative convenience. People who do not meet the requirements of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (the “IRPA“), and most commonly people who are criminally inadmissible to Canada and who are not eligible to apply for rehabilitation, require TRPs in order to enter or remain in Canada.
IRCC/ESDC Employer Compliance Inspections
All employers of temporary foreign workers in Canada need to understand how the employer compliance regime works. Both Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (“IRCC”) as well as the Department of Employment and Social Development (“ESDC”) regularly audit and inspect the employers of foreign workers to make sure that they are complying with the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and/or the International Mobility Program (which are the two main programs through which foreign nationals can work in Canada). Both ESDC and IRCC have indicated that about 25% of employers can expect an inspection in any given year. Most of these inspections and audits start with the employer receiving a letter from the Government of Canada informing them that they will be examined on a multitude of factors, including whether they have employed the foreign national in the job that they were supposed to, whether they paid the wages that they were supposed to, whether the employer complied with laws regulating employment, whether they maintained records and whether they took reasonable efforts to provide a workplace that was free of abuse. I have embedded below the standard employer compliance letter that is sent out at the start of an audit. Consequences of Non-Compliance There … Read More
C-20 Work Permits
Regulation 205(b) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations provide that: 205 – A work permit may be issued under section 200 to a foreign national who intends to perform work that (b) would create or maintain reciprocal employment of Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada in other countries. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (“IRCC”) accordingly has a Labour Market Impact Assessment Confirmation Exemption Code C-20 which allows foreign workers to take up employment in Canada when Canadians have similar reciprocal opportunities abroad. As per the IRCC website, entry under reciprocal provisions should result in a neutral labour market impact. This provision also allows for admission of workers where reciprocity is demonstrated by the Canadian employer (or specific program administrator). The IRCC website further states: This could be indicated in the exchange agreement between the Canadian and foreign parties, a letter from the receiving Canadian institution, the work contract (if it provides evidence of reciprocity) and, if necessary, the officer can request documents and/or data to enable verification of reciprocal employment volumes. Bona fide evidence of reciprocity will allow the officer to issue a work permit. It is not necessary that there be exact reciprocity (i.e. one for one exchange), but the general … Read More
Misrepresentation
Section 40 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act provides that a permanent resident or foreign national is inadmissible to Canada for directly or indirectly misrepresenting or withholding a material fact relating to a relevant matter that induces or could induce an error in the administration of Canada’s immigration laws. The general consequence of misrepresenting is a five-year ban from entering Canada. Canada is very strict on misrepresentation. In Bundhel v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2014 FC 1147, for example, Mr. Bundhel had been charged and convicted with an offence, which had been overturned on appeal. Mr. Bundhel would accordingly not have been criminally inadmissible to Canada. Because of this, he put on his immigration forms that he had never been charged or arrested. When it discovered thathehad been previously charged, what is now Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada wrote to him and provided him with an opportunity to explain why he misrepresented. After the immigration officer reviewed Mr. Bundhel’s explanation that it was an innocent mistake, the officer refused the application, and declared the person inadmissible to Canada for misrepresentation. The Court wrote (citations removed): Mr. Bundhel’s complaint that the Officer should have considered the fact that he owned-up to the … Read More
Language Requirements and Work Permits
Regulation 200(3)(a) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, SOR/2002-227 provides that an officer shall not issue a work permit to a foreign national if there are reasonable grounds to believe that the foreign national is unable to perform the work sought. An issue that is becomming increasingly common is whether someone has sufficient language ability to perform the work sought. IELTS For the most part, the Federal Court has been very deferential to visa officers when assessing whether they have the language requirements to perform the work sought. In Sen v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2022 FC 777, for example, Madam Justice Strickland determined that it was reasonable for a visa officer to determine that someone with a 3.5 IELTS reading score could not perform the duties of a Cook in Canada because they might be unable to follow recipes, read notes from serving staff, and read food safety instructions. In Singh v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2023 FC 170 , Madam Justice McDonald ruled that it was reasonable for a visa officer to determine that an individual with IELTS 5.0 in reading would be unable to safely read road signs, understand safety procedures and regulations, record cargo information and administer bills. … Read More
Restoration of Status
If a visitor, worker, or student loses their legal status in Canada, they may be eligible to apply for status restoration. This process, known as a restoration application, allows individuals to regain their temporary resident status under specific conditions. According to section 182 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (“IRPR”), applicants must meet certain eligibility criteria to restore their status in Canada.: 182. On application made by a visitor, worker or student within 90 days after losing temporary resident status as a result of failing to comply with a condition imposed under paragraph 185(a), any of subparagraphs 185(b)(i) to (iii) or paragraph 185(c), an officer shall restore that status if, following an examination, it is established that the visitor, worker or student meets the initial requirements for their stay, has not failed to comply with any other conditions imposed and is not the subject of a declaration made under subsection 22.1(1) of the Act. According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (“IRCC“) Guidelines, if an individual applies to extend their temporary resident status and IRCC refuses the application after their status has expired, the Case Processing Centre – Edmonton will notify them that they can submit a restoration of … Read More
The Post-Graduation Work Permit
Canada’s Post-Graduate Work Permit (“PGWP”) program (the “PGWPP“) allows international students who have completed certain Canadian post-secondary programs to obtain work permits after graduating. The work permits are open, meaning that the graduates can work for any employer in any Canadian province. It is a fantastic program that enhances the competitiveness of Canadian post-secondary institutions internationally, and is normally an essential transitory step for international graduates looking to eventually obtain Canadian permanent residency. However, every year there are many international students who mistakenly think that they will be eligible to participate in the program after graduating only to discover midway through their studies that they cannot. It is accordingly very important that all international students in Canada understand how the PGWP program works. Basis in Law Section 205 of Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations provides the government with the authority to create programs to issue work permits to foreign nationals when it is satisfied that public policy objectives relating to the competiveness of Canada’s economy or academic institutions are met. The PGWPP is one of these programs, and detailed information about it can be found on the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (“IRCC“) website here. As the Federal Court … Read More